Join us on Easter

Are you considering going to church on Easter? Take a drone tour of our weird building! Then, come and join us Apirl 5th at 8:00, 9:30, or 11:00 AM.

Thinking of joining us on Easter? Take a Drone tour!
Posted by The Bridge Community Church on Thursday, April 2, 2015

Reset

Do you remember the RESET button on the Nintendo Entertainment System? It used to drive me crazy when my sisters would hit it because I was so engrossed in a game that I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing. Did that ever happen to anyone else?

“But I was on level 15!!!“

Here is another question:

Have you ever thought about hitting the RESET button on your life? 

On July 27th we are going to take four weeks to hit the RESET button on our hearts, attitudes and minds. If the Holy Spirit hit reset in your life, what would you do different? What would you do again? What changes would be made?

Join us for a new four week series, RESET!

•  July 27th – Begin Again 
• The beauty and call of the gospel. 
•  August 3rd – Drudgery or Delight 
•  The motivation for gospel living 
• August 10th – Abide and Thrive 
• The path and results of gospel living 
• August 17th – Remember, Rejoice, Respond 
•  The sustaining power of the gospel for life 

You are invited to join us at The Bridge Community Church at 9:00 or 10:45!
-pastor Ben

 Watch the trailer and share it with your friends!
"RESET" Sermon Series Trailer from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

For His Name's Sake

Last week's special celebration, "For His Name's Sake" is now online. You can watch the entire celebration as well as listen to the conviction behind the transition of the Arnold campus into a local autonomous church. You can also read about the campus transition at this link. 

For His Name's Sake 07-20-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

Dear Bridge Family: Arnold Campus Transition

Dear Bridge Family,

In Matthew 28:19-20 we were commissioned as disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Our mission as a local church expression has been birthed out of this assignment from Christ himself.

We exist as a local expression of the church to be disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus for His fame.

In March of 2006 we held our first worship gathering and have been blessed to baptize hundreds of new disciples since that time. We are actively pursuing to teach these new disciples to obey the commands of Christ through our corporate gathering and scattering (missional cell families) in the power of the Holy Spirit. In March of 2012, we sent a team of disciples to Arnold to begin a new movement of gospel ministry. Then, in the summer of 2013 we sent our first long-term missionaries to Bangkok to begin another work of gospel ministry.

The gospel is bearing fruit and growing! There has been healthy multiplication as an outgrowth of the mission empowered by the Holy Spirit.

This Sunday we celebrated the progress of ministry in Arnold. They are quickly growing from infancy to adulthood as a local expression of the church. In light of this, we are moving towards a HEALTHY transition of the Arnold campus to a local autonomous church.  

Here are three things you need to know.

1. This will involve a name change from The Bridge Arnold to something new on September 7th.  The local Arnold elders are currently seeking to register City on a Hill with the state of Missouri.  This name change is essential due to the fact that another large church has moved into Arnold with a very similar name.
2. Eventually, Arnold will move to full autonomy as they become more financially stable, develop a full plurality of elders, and have a complete staff. 
3. This compels the formation of The Bridge Network of churches. This will keep our family together with Arnold, Bangkok, and other churches that we have helped to plant or will plant. A strong relationship among local autonomous churches will remain through the sharing of ideas, resources, and ministry opportunities.

This is the fruit of healthy gospel multiplication. There is no conflict. There is only a desire for disciples to be made for the glory of His name. These developments increase Arnold’s ability to bring the mission of God into their specific cultural context. Yes, our name will be dropped but His name will be proclaimed. His name will be lifted high and that is what matters. Why? We were never commissioned to make disciples of our name but His. Additionally, we were never commissioned to spread our brand, but we have been commissioned to spread the news that Jesus Christ saves sinners.

So let’s go. Let’s keep making disciples who make disciples for His fame.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the 

name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

For His Name’s Sake,

Ben Durbin

Lead Pastor, The Bridge Community Church

Galatians

I taught the book of Galatians beginning January 2014 at The Bridge Community Church. Below you will find eleven teaching outlines from my sermons. These are what I walk on stage with. Note: Perfectionists beware that you may find incomplete sentences or typos. There were a few additional sermons in this series from other teachers at our fellowship not included here.

1. No Other Gospel - Galatians 1:1-10
2. A Gospel Driven Life - Galatians 1:11-24
3. Freed Through Faith - Galatians 2
4. Living by Faith - Galatians 2:20 - 3:14
5. Living by Promise - Galatians 3:15-25 
6. Adopted by God - Galatians 3:26-4:7
7. Breaking Free (aka Grace to the Barren) - Galatians 4:21-31
8. Free from Self-Righteousness - Galatians 5:1-15
9. Free from Self-Effort - Galatians 5:16-24
10. Free from Self-Centeredness - Galatians 5:25-6:6
11. Free from the World - Galatians 6:11-18

To listen to these sermons go to our podcast or video site.

"Here it is Lord, my shell collection."

Bridge Family, 

This Sunday we end our time in the book of Galatians together by wrestling with the question, "What do you boast in?" This will be the fourteenth and final sermon from the book.  Please gather with us this Sunday as we close out our series, "Living Free!"

Why? 

This section of scripture contains one of the most important messages that a Christian can ever hear on daily living. Paul shows us how to live free from the trappings of this present world. We will see that the Christian's life is to be driven by one thing; the cross of Christ.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 ESV)

So, what's with the title of this blog you may ask? As I study for this passage, I can still hear the words of John Piper ringing in my ears from a sermon he delivered at a Passion One Day Conference in Memphis, TN in the year 2000 for college students. The title of the message was "Boasting Only in the Cross." It later became fleshed out in one of his books, "Don't Waste Your Life." A few years later, a friend gave me this message and it challenged me to question the validity of the dreams that I had for my life and submit them to God.

I am sharing with you a section of this sermon today for you to view before coming to our gathering this Sunday. You can watch the clip below. I also wanted to challenge you to just listen to the message without pressing back. I know some may say, I don't like Piper because he has said this or that or the way he talks about _____ (insert whatever you want here). But, let's be honest...I don't even like some of the things that come out of my own mouth sometimes. Simply check this out and let it check you before coming. It is about eight minutes long.

I hope to see you this Sunday. 

What do we boast in? May it be said of us that we boast only in the cross of Christ!

"Here it is Lord, my shell collection." - John Piper

I Don't Know Why

Last November I shared with some friends that I had a few songs that I still wanted to get out. You can read about my current music project here. Then, this past Sunday Becky and I decided to share a simple preview of one of these songs on social media. It was three years ago this past Sunday that we lost a baby. Honestly, this time was a tough season in our lives. We trusted Jesus, but we found that this sort of thing was something that Christians rarely talk openly about or process. How do you talk about miscarriage? I honestly still do not know all of those answers, and that's OK. We don't need every answer. But, we also don't need to walk through these times alone.

I am sharing a preview of this tune now on my blog to let others out there know that they are not alone. The pain you feel is real. There is a whole community of Christians that hurt every time Mother's Day or Father's Day rolls around. You are not alone and Jesus has not abandoned you. There is good news. Jesus has risen. His tomb is empty.

You can listen to an acoustic preview of this song by clicking the link below.

https://app.box.com/s/xwqnbhljxl5jktn5zfkk

Song Preview: I Don't Know Why

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Sowing and Reaping

Bridge Family, Michael Goldsmith did a wonderful job teaching Galatians 6:7-10 yesterday in part four of our current series Living Free. I wanted to follow up today with some Bible notes I made on the passage as I studied. I have been trying to do this every Monday following a sermon to provide ongoing discussions. Remember, your walk is more than one hour on any given Sunday; it is daily...

Verses 7-10 are Paul’s final warning, verses 11-18 are his final invitation. We will look at verses 11-18 in next Sunday's sermon. 

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10 ESV)

·         “Do not be deceived” in verse 7 is in many ways a theme of the whole letter. Do not be deceived by false gospels (early in the letter). Then, do not be deceived by selfish living, in the last half. 

·         Sowing and reaping is a farming or gardening illustration

o   First, whatever you sow you will reap

§  Planting (Sowing)

§  If you sow tomato seeds, you do not get corn

§  If you give in to your sinful nature, you will reap spiritual breakdown and destruction will make its way around you.

§  Sin is destruction and breakdown

§  Verses 6 & 7 can really sum up the book of Proverbs (wisdom)

§  To sow dishonesty breaks down relationships and leads to loneliness

§  To sow jealousy and envy breaks down contentment and so on…

§  Sin produces destruction rather than joy and life

§  Your sin will eventually find you out. Take it seriously

§  Paul has already warned that if we reject the gospel for a self-salvation project, then slavery and destruction will be complete (total).

§  People can easily be deceived to look to self (sinful nature) rather than the Gospel to provide endurance and motivation for life.

o   Second, whatever you so you will reap

§  Harvesting (Reaping - sow to the spirit reap eternal life)

§  The seed may lie in the ground to no apparent effect for a long time, but it will come up.

§  To sow well we must not give up and become weary in doing good

·         There is always a delay between sowing and reaping

·         People who do good will experience fruit---eventually (it may look different than expected)

§  What is” doing good” in sowing?

·         “do good to everyone, especially the household of faith”

·         First, our Christian life isn’t primarily about programs, but people

·         Second, we give them whatever love discerns as their needs including

o   Word – evangelism

o   Deed – action

·         “as we have opportunity” – Third, we can’t meet the needs of “all” people but as we have God given opportunity we respond.

·         Fourth, supremely this love is to be given to the “household of faith”

o   We are a family

o   We must do good intensely with those who are in fellowship with us

o   Be active in a local church community. Be known and know others. Help others. Self-deception says be individualistic. But the Gospel has a community on mission together that need each other.

o   This is the lifestyle from which we will have a real, fulfilling, and everlasting life

§  This type of life requires sacrifice in the short run. You bind your heart up emotionally with others. This means you could have avoided some distress but choose not to. You sacrifice money for people, ministry, and mission. The list of sacrifices could go on, but the rewards Paul hints to are much greater.

§  The rewards we can experience:

·         First, we often get the direct and deep satisfaction of seeing other lives changed

·         Second, we may get the deep satisfaction of seeing communities transformed

·         Third, we may even get to see changed lives begin to change other lives

·         Fourth, We will find our own character changing deeply through ministry, even when we never see much outward success. This is the deep harvest. And by trusting the gospel (sowing to the Spirit) we have eternal life. 

Gospel Reminder: Sowing and reaping is not karma. Karma says you get what you deserve. The gospel says we get what we do not deserve because of the work of Jesus Christ and our deep trust in Him. Cling to the Gospel. Sow to the spirit. 

For more on a Christian sowing to the Spirit or the Flesh, go and re-read Galatians 5:16-24.

The gospel provides perseverance in the pursuit of deep community that brings fruit. Self-deception leads us to sow to ourselves rather than to the Spirit.

A Self-Correcting Family

I finished this past Sunday's message challenging everyone to spend some time wrestling with a few questions. It is Monday and time to keep wrestling with them. They are:

Questions:
 How does your conceit show itself in relationships? Do you tend to be provocative or envious?
 What opportunities has God given you to carry another's burdens?
 Is there a habitual sin you need to gently restore a brother from?
 Are you willing to listen to others who seek to restore you?
 How are you supporting the mission of our local church?

Below are the sermon notes to help you remember the context. Also go re-read Galatians 5:25 - 6:6. 

The Big Idea: The gospel births a community of restoration and self-correction—of brothers and sisters, not consumers and critics.

The Problem: Self-centeredness turns us into consumers and critics.

Key Verse: Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. - Galatians 5:26

Conceit = "vain-glorious" or "empty of honor"

Key Truth #1: conceit is a deep insecurity, a perceived absence of honor, leading to a need to prove our worth to ourselves and others.

Provoking = looking down on someone who is perceived to be weaker
Envying = looking up to someone who is perceived to be above them

Key Truth #2: Both superiority and inferiority are forms of conceit. Both are self-absorbed

The Solution: Only the gospel makes us neither over self-confident nor self-disdaining, but both bold and humble.

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. - Galatians 6:1

A Self-Correcting Family:
1. Spirit-filled brothers help others "trapped" in a sin
2. Gently bringing healing pain
3. Humbly recognizing that we are capable of similar sin.
4. Willing to put our strength under others burdens.
5. Stewarding our gifts and talents in a way that honors Jesus.
6. Supporting the mission of our local church.

The sermon will be uploaded to our podcast and video channels tonight.

The Daily Battle

Hey Bridge Family, 

I ended yesterday's sermon (Galatians 5:16-24) with a challenge that walking in the Spirit involves an internal, daily crucifixion of our sinful desires, and a daily heart adoration of Christ. It is Monday and time to engage and do battle. 

Here are some questions to help. 

1. Which of the works of the sinful nature listed yesterday do you see in your own life?
2. What are the false beliefs behind the desires that cause you to behave in these ways?
3. What are the idols that need identifying and dismantling in your own life?
4. How will you preach the gospel of Jesus to yourself to undermine these desires and strangle sin at the motivational level? How does this lead to change at the behavioral level? 
5. Examine yourself. How can you see the fruit of the Spirit growing in your own life? 

Christ is all.

You can listen to last Sunday's podcast here.

"Living Free" "Free From Self-Effort" 03-23-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

No Other Gospel - Sermon from 1.12.2014

No Other Gospel

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Set Free

Galatians 1:1-10

Benjamin Durbin

1/12/2013

You can watch the celebration as well.

"Set Free - No Other Gospel" 01-12-14 from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

Intro:

The apostle Paul was a church-planting missionary. After he planted a church and left a region, he continued to supervise new congregations through his letters. One of these letters is this epistle to the Christian churches in the area of Galatia in Asia Minor, which he planted on his first missionary journey in Acts 13 and 14. Paul writes to these Christians concerning the truth of the Gospel. There were some teachers who had been presenting a whole different way of relating to God than the true Gospel that he preached and taught them.  To Paul, everything was at stake if this young church were to lose grip of the true gospel.

Key Verse: 

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— (Galatians 1:6, ESV)

The Big Idea: There is only one gospel. There is no other Gospel than that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us and was raised. This scandalous grace is what sets us free.

The True Gospel:

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:1-5, ESV)

•        While founders of other religions came to teach, Jesus came to deliver.  (vs. 4)

Buddha’s last words:

 "It may be that after I am gone that some of you will think, ‘now we have no teacher.’ But that is not how you should see it. Let the Dharma and the discipline that I have taught you be your teacher. All individual things pass away. Strive on, untiringly." - http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/death-and-legacy-part-2/

Jesus’ last words:

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30, ESV)

Grasp:  The average person on the street believes that a Christian is someone who follows Christ’s teaching and example, but Paul implies that is impossible unless one has first been rescued.

Illustration:  You do not throw a drowning woman a manual on how to swim, you throw her a rope. Jesus is much more than a teacher,  He is a rescuer and deliverer.

•        This means that we are sinners in need of deliverance.  (vs. 4)

Sin didn’t make us bad, it made us dead. And we won’t belittle Jesus by urging you to fix that.

•        Jesus paid the debt of sin on our behalf (vs. 4)

•        Jesus was raised defeating sin and death itself.  (vs. 1)

Christ’s death is not presented here as a general sacrifice purchasing us a “second chance” to get life right, but rather it is presented as a substitutionary sacrifice. This means that Jesus did all that we needed to do, but cannot do. Jesus did all we should have done, in our place, so when he becomes our Savior, we are free .

•        Before we asked for a rescue, God planned it.  (vs. 4)

There is no indication of any other motivation or cause for Christ’s mission except the will of God. There is nothing in us which merits it.

•        This means that salvation is sheer grace

•        Jesus achieved the rescue we could have never achieved ourselves.

If we contributed to our rescue of if we had rescued ourselves, then we could pat ourselves on our backs. The Apostle Paul’s gospel is clear, that salvation from first to last is God’s doing.  It is grace all the way down. In Romans he writes…

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30, ESV)

•        The only one who gets “glory forever and ever” is God alone.

But we love to be our own saviors. Our hearts love to manufacture glory for themselves. So then we find messages of self-salvation extremely attractive…We quickly move on to Jesus plus something else, and so must have the believers in this young church plant.

False Gospels:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9, ESV)

So the history behind this text is that there's a group of men from Jerusalem called the Judaizers who have come down into the churches of Galatia, and they're teaching the Christians in Galatia, who were Gentile pagans, that in order for them to be fully Christian, they must first become Jews. They need to be circumcised and be obedient to the dietary laws and the festivals. So they're adding to Christ. They are changing the gospel...and Paul is saying that even if an angel shows up and tells you a different gospel and wants you to put them on golden tablets...Run!!

There are many false gospels such as: Jesus + this political position, Jesus + tolerance (universalism is blasted in this text), Jesus + poverty, Jesus + prosperity, Jesus + speaking in tongues, Jesus + my denominational heritage, Jesus +this other teaching,Jesus + anything. But I want to focus on two common false gospels rampant in our context. I am thankful to Tim Keller for helping with this terminology. It is useful to describe them, so I will use them here today. 

They are the...

Religious False Gospel = Keep these rules and you earn eternal blessing

---this is going to get hammered throughout the book.

---- this is Jesus plus extra-biblical rules and tradition

--- in this book we will come to see that grace isn't opposed to grace driven effort, but it is wholly opposed and Paul is even hostile against any sense of earning salvation.

And there is the... 

Secular False Gospel =  "Grab ahold of these things and you’ll experience blessing now"

The secular false gospel is more sneaky. It strokes our hearts and ego and says

"God helps those who help themselves.”

It is much more an attachment and sales pitch for faith in the American dream, than biblical faith in the apostolic gospel.

If you listen carefully,  this popular false gospel is telling you that you can be your own Savior. Like the little engine that could, you can do it. You can do it. If you just do this, God will do this for you right now. But, the message of the Bible is that you cannot do it. That is why Christ came to this earth. He did what we could not do, dying on the cross to pay for your sins and rising from the grave to give you life if you repent and believe in him. Telling people that they can do something they really can’t is not helping people. It is putting them in bondage.

And it makes people restless... So we get more and more stuff. And we compare ourselves to others to try and one-up. Then like gangrene it spreads to our relationships...and we are restless and tired of our spouse, or disappointed in our kids, or jealous and combative towards our peers at work...then disillusioned and depressed because the little engine inside of us...must not be as big as the engine inside the neighbor, co-worker, Facebook friend, or business owner...

Restless striving...focus on self...it is total bondage.

Only the true gospel sets us free.

Religious and Secular message = "God helps those who help themselves.”

Gospel Declaration: Jesus substituted himself for a people who could not help themselves

Every false gospel elevates man and downplays Jesus.

Both the religious and secular false gospels are messages of self-salvation but the gospel comes and turns them both upside down!

And Paul says, those who preach a false gospel, let them go to hell.  (vs. 9)

False Religion suggests:

Believe in Jesus + Obedience = God’s acceptance

The Gospel Declares:

Believe in Jesus = God’s acceptance + desire for obedience

Justification: God declares us right because of Jesus’ obedience

Sanctification:  God continually changes us with his power as we obey

False Religion says God only loves you if you perform well.

The Gospel says Jesus performed for you.

False religion says you do not need a rescuer in your place to save you. "You just need look within yourself."

The Gospel says you must have a rescuer, and God gave Jesus.

False religion says work harder, do better, to gain approval and favor.

The Gospel says you can now work from the approval you have in Christ.

Let’s see it in a picture. This illustration is from Darrin Patrick.

Now look at verse 10 as we close, because there seems to be an accusation being made against Paul, and he's not having it. I love this. Apparently there's an accusation being made against Paul that the reason Paul didn't tell them about circumcision (because that can't go over well to grown men), and the reason he didn't tell them about the dietary laws, is that he wanted to win friends and influence people.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

The accusation is that Paul soft-pedaled the gospel in order to gain converts. So Paul goes, "If anybody preaches other than this, let him be damned. “

So, who's trying to win friends now? Paul says if I was simply trying to win friends I certainly wouldn’t be a servant of Jesus. I would be doing something else... The implication is if I'm just trying to win friends then I'm not a servant of Christ. If I'm trying to tickle your ears, then I do not love Jesus."

So Listen closely....

There is only one gospel. There is no other Gospel than that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us. And deliver us He did. Then, He was raised and we can be raised. Raised to new life in Christ. Raised to enjoy him forever. He is our prize.

This scandalous grace is what sets us free.  It is grace all the way down. IT SHOUTS God helps those who need delivered and cannot help themselves.  It’s all Jesus. There is no other good news. There is no other gospel.

Communion.

Saying Farewell to 2013

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

How will you say farewell to 2013?

2013 is almost over. Another year is coming to an end. That is 365 days of the rising and setting of the sun that are soon to be a memory. I feel the need to be like Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell and call time out. Can we at-least hit pause? I need to step back and remember the year that was, before I can move on to new goals and resolutions for 2014. I don't want to waste the moments. I don't want to forget the memories. I don't want to miss the joy or the sadness.

I'm sure you have heard the old adage, "Haste makes waste." So why are we always so hasty to party and move on? The tortoise always beats the hare. The tortoise always wins. I've read the ending a million times. This year, I don't want to be in a hurry to move on. I want to slow down. I want to pause. I need time to reflect to not waste the moments. I'm growing tired of being young and arrogant. It's time to number my days and realize that life is short. 365 more days. 365 more days of my short life are gone. What did I do with them?

What did you do with yours?

12 Moments I Will NOT Waste (and one resolution):

1. Reninca Hill came to visit. I have a special spot in my heart for missionaries; specifically young missionaries who walk away from comfortable living to pursue missions. I met Reninca from the Haiti Hospital Appeal in 2011 and was honored to have her come and visit with our faith community. She has been instrumental in the formation of the Peace and Joy Project as well. Look for more details on this in 2014!

2. I turned 30 and the loving people of The Bridge made me a gift! Let's just say that time flies when you are having fun with the people you love. I do finally feel old and "experienced" enough to actually be a lead pastor of a church.

3. The Kaleo Project. I have had the privilege to be a part of training potential church planters and pastors for the past year in the Kaleo Project. I have been blessed to partner with Parkland Chapel and see men like Brian Dunlap, Mike Minghi, Ezra Valencia, Jerrod Tune, Ronnie Buckingham, Marcus Archer, Zack Mills, Randall Turnbough, and Lance Calvert grow. I am increasingly convinced that all churches must be actively in pursuit of raising up and sending out pastors, missionaries, and church planters.

4. I said goodbye to Parallax View.  For over a decade I led worship at various youth events with my band before putting a period at the end of our sentence together in April. You can read about this transition in my life here. I miss these guys. The photos below are from our last show together.

5. Relentless - Easter 2013. I'm still blown away by the grace of God that I experienced within the context of community on this day. I remember your goodness, oh Lord.

6. My family laughed, cried, argued, and prayed together. I am greatly blessed. My favorite family moment of 2013 was celebrating 10 years of marriage to my wonderful wife Becky! But, there were so many other tremendous memories with my family that I can't capture them all. Here are a few below. The videos crack me up every time.

7. The 48 baptisms at The Bridge-Leadington. May this never get old. God thank you for letting us participate in YOUR salvation of men and women!

8. Camp Elevate. We hosted our first ever church camp in 2013 with over 130 kids in participation! I can't wait for July 10-12!!! The water-slide was fantastic!

9. The Night of Worship Concerts at The Bridge. I always enjoy the special nights of worship at our faith community, but this was the first year that I sat in the crowd and was able to just experience them. Our musicians are phenomenal and I was very blessed by the high level of worship and participation in the crowd. My two favorites were the acoustic and Christmas nights of worship. See below.

10. Preaching. I love preaching the eternal word of God. This year I was blessed with the opportunity to preach: the entire book of Acts, the Church Summer School Series on Sunday nights, Christmas is For-Giving (Matthew 1 &2 for Christmas), a mini-series called Restored-How the Gospel makes us Whole, and a two week vision series called GROW to start the year. I don't ever want to stop talking about Jesus. I am thankful that the Lord has entrusted me to preach, proclaim, and entrust the message of the Gospel to others!

11. The Smith Family. We sent our first long-term missionaries to Bangkok, Thailand this past summer. I am honored to know them. I am thankful for them. I miss them like crazy. Pastor Lance was a staff pastor with me at The Bridge-Leadington before embarking on global missions. He is the disciple maker I hope to be one day. Would you join me in praying for them? This photo is from their send-off celebration.

UPDATED:
12. Miss Betty met Jesus.  Becky and I recently watched one of our first celebrations as church plant in Elizabeth Hall, and there was Betty on the front row praising Jesus. I'll forever remember her serving our kids in BK. I'll forever remember her always bringing me gifts. I'll forever remember her story. I will not waste the moments that I had with her. She loved Jesus and today she got to meet Him.


Meet Betty from Roger Durbin on Vimeo.

FINALLY-My new year's resolution for 2014.

2013 was special. I pray that this new year the Holy Spirit will continue to teach me to number my days. With that in the forefront of my mind, here is my resolution:

I want the people closest to me to be able to say, that day-by-day, "He was increasingly driven by the fame of His Father's name."

Happy New Years. Farewell 2013.

Music Project

I am happy to share with my friends that I am working on a new music project. Music has always been a large part of my upbringing and I have a few songs left inside of me that I feel I must get out. I need to sing them and I hope that a few of you need to hear them as well. 

This album is different from anything else that I have been a part of in the past with Parallax View or Bridge Worship. It is not rock. It doesn't fit into the genre of worship. It is simply songs from my basement. Music has always been a way to express myself and come to grips with the big moments in my life. Therefore, each song was either written during or about a specific moment in my life. They are pastoral in some sense. 

For example: 

"Everything Right" was written after my parents lost their home in a tornado. "I Want to Go" was put together surrounding the Holy Spirit's call to preach and teach on my life. Then, there is "I Don't Know Why"  which was written for my wife after we lost our third child. And in a song that still levels me to this day, there is "To the King." It was written after one of our adult volunteers drowned at a church sponsored children's event. But, do not fret, there will be many happy moments and surprises along the way as well. "The Wretch" captures a moment when I realized that the wretch I was singing about in Amazing Grace was actually me!!! And then there is this one itch that I need to scratch.  I think you and I both may need a little bluegrass. 

I'll be going into the studio with PureSonic Productions around my ministry schedule to finish it up before releasing them online. Since these guys are my family, I will either finish very quickly or very slowly. Your guess is about as good as mine. It really depends on how often we start and stop to watch sporting events. To be continued. 

It is coming soon. It is fun to make music with friends!

***All proceeds from this music project will go to The Bridge Community Church and selected missions.

Jesus likes cowboys too

The world is trending towards the city-even the church, but I am not. I am a pastor. I am a church planter like many of you. BUT, I live in the sticks. Truth be told, I know more about fishing tackle than indie music. I like to shoot things and set stuff on fire out in fields. And sometimes when I read books, blogs, and attend conferences I sense that I am alone.

I grew up in Mine La Motte, an unincorporated community in Madison County Missouri. It is six miles north of Fredericktown, MO which boasts of a whopping population total right at 3,985 people. Mine La Motte was settled as the first lead mine in Missouri in 1717. But, the only thing we are known for these days is that we filled up a few old mine sites with water and turned them into swimming holes. We still swim in and eat fish from them to this day. At one of these spots you can even cliff dive and zip line into the water while drinking your beer. Oddly enough, people from all over Missouri pay to do it.

Today, I pastor a multi-congregational church in Leadington, MO called The Bridge Community Church. We are a growing faith community in rural America that was planted seven years ago. Leadington has a population of 422 people and resides in a county of around 65,000 people. I am often asked by friends and acquaintances if this ministry stop is a stepping stone to bigger and better things. That question in and of itself can tell a lot about our idolatry and current obsession.

While the obsession with ministry trends towards the city, what about those of us who are not there? What about those of us that feel called to be where we are at in rural ministry? Are we in sin? Does Jesus still send people into the country? Is there a need for rural ministry? Are we denying the great commission? Are there ideals that have gone wrong in rural America that will require the grace of God and a courageous pastor?

These types of questions and more I hope to wrestle with in a book project I have been working on.

I write this all with a genuine love for the city and a thankful heart for pastors who live and plant there. I learn from you. I respect you. I am praying you reach the city and that a genuine movement of God spreads out into our communities. We desperately need you. I am very thankful for your baseball teams, but I am not you. And while I see the need for churches to be planted in the city, I also know the need for churches to be planted and renewed all throughout rural America. And while Jesus does love the city and urban professionals, I have a feeling he loves cowboys too. In fact, Jesus was a rural Galilean himself that was born in Bethlehem which had declined in significance into a small village at the time of his birth. Then, Jesus was raised in Nazareth which had such little cultural significance during his day it led people to ask, "Can anything good come from there?"
 
Book Project Overview:
A Theology for the Country (AKA – Would Jesus Bale Hay)

• The city as an idol
• Galilean Jesus
• Rural signposts of the Glory of God
• Rural men that Jesus called
• Fast is good, but accurate is better 

The Need for Corporate Renewal (AKA – If I hear Amazing Grace to the tune of Gilligan’s Island one more time…)

• That’s the way it was and we like it (systemic problems)
• The rise of “cowboy churches” (developing problems)
• Why I am not a  huge fan of affinity based only church movements. 
• Cowboy Up (leadership problems)
• Don’t worry, I’ve been in tighter spots than this (The Gospel Solution) 

The Need for Individual Renewal (AKA - Gospel Centered Cowboys)

• Wiping the manure off our boots (faith-repentance-obedience) 
• Yellow-belly no more (recovering courageous leadership) 
• He's studying to be a half-wit (the need for renewed church-based Bible training)
• Crossing the county lines (the country as an idol) 

The Need for Called Men (AKA – I’m your huckleberry)

• Every trail has puddles, son (the reality of hard work) 
• Never kick a cow patty on a hot day (dealing with small-town resistance) 
• He’s all hat and no cattle (serving beyond yourself)
• Mount up and go west young man (raising up and sending disciples off)
• Ride off into the distance (you will not be front page news) 

Jesus Likes Cowboys Too – concluding thoughts re-affirming the necessity of Gospel-driven, mission minded, Biblical churches to be planted and renewed across rural America.

Please pray for me as I write. Yes, I am taking the liberty to have fun with this and will hopefully make you smile here and there along the way.


***All proceeds from this book project will go to The Bridge Community Church and selected missions.

What role does Prayer have in the Christian life?

This year at our annual members meeting we had a focused time of prayer where I challenged our membership to begin praying for some specific items related to our faith community. We believe in prayer and we know that God can do much more than we could ever do on our own. We looked at three scripture passages and then broke out into a set prayer time over some specific items that are listed below the passages.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6, ESV)

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; (1 Timothy 2:8, ESV)

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:18, ESV)

Our Prayer Items:

1. Fill our minds with your greatness, not our own.
2. May we be disciples of Jesus who make more disciples for your fame. 
3. Give us a courageous love for people in our community.
4. Give us opportunities to share the gospel.
5. Empower our teachers and volunteers in Bridge Kids. Save our children.
6. Empower our teachers and volunteers in Youth Ministry. Save our youth.
7. May our missional cells grow us and reach out to others.
8. May “A Night in Bethlehem” be used to reach our community for Christ.
9. May our “Advent Conspiracy” offering bless Lance and Sandy Smith and reach Bangkok for Christ.
10. Bring hope, healing, and salvation to the people of Jefferson County through The Bridge-Arnold. 
11. Use our gifts, talents, and resources to make more disciples of you for your fame. 
12. Empower and protect our elders, staff, deacons, members, and volunteers. 
13. Keep saving lost people in St. Francois County

Then, this question came in from an online source who is not an attender of our church. 

Question: What role does prayer have in the Christian life if you believe in the sovereignty of God?

Here was my response (this is by no means exhaustive) :

I personally feel that our prayer life is a primary way that we experience the sonship of God. The longer I walk as a Christian, the more I am finding my prayer focus changing from mere petition (asking), to fellowship with God. In the same way that communication is vital to any relationship we have physically, communication with God is vital to experiencing our relationship with God spiritually.

The Bible tells us to pray and we should obey scripture (Col. 4:2, Matthew 6:5-6, among many others) The needs of our own life, our church, and world missions is so great that we must depend on God! Wayne Grudem helpfully comments: ‘Prayer is not made so that God can find out what we need...God wants us to pray because prayer expresses our trust in God and is a means whereby our trust in him can increase. In fact, perhaps the primary emphasis of the Bible’s teaching on prayer is that we pray with faith, which means trust or dependence on God’. 

We also know that God acts when we pray in fulfilling his purposes. A. W. Pink writes, ‘God has decreed that certain events shall come to pass, but he has also decreed that these events shall com to pass through the means he has appointed for their accomplishment.'

God is sovereign and He has chosen to carry out His purposes and His plans through the word of God, the Spirit's active work, and human means (the church). This includes our gospel proclamation as well as our prayers. In scripture, we see that we are commanded to pray (1 Thess. 5:17), invited to pray (Mark 11:20-26, among  many others), and we see that prayer is effective and powerful (James 5:13-18). We are even told to pray for healing while trusting that God's ultimate purposes will be carried out. Romans 10:14-17 shows us that God carries out much of his saving purposes via the church, and in addition we see that God carries out much of his purposes on this earth via prayer (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Therefore, God's people must pray. So, we do pray and we enjoy our sonship and fellowship with God.

If you are a part of our fellowship, have you continued in prayer? May we grow in our fervency for prayer!